Presser-foot lock



r. E. VALOIS. PRESSER FOOT LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I. I9I8.

' Patented Jun 6, 1922.

3 SHEETS -SHEET F. E. VALOIS.

PRESSER FOOT LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1. 1918.

Patented June 6,1922. 3 SHEETS-SIREN!- INVENIFEJY:

may i. Val

F. E. VALOIS.

k PRESSER FOOT LOCK.

APPLICATIQN FILED AUG-I. 1918.

1,418,750. PatentedJime 6,1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVEN fEH l w y AJF|'\/5 FELIX EMILE VAL-01S, OF HAVEBIIILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HA MACHINERY COMPANY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION CHUSETTS.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FELIX E. VALoIs, a citizen of the United States, residing at I-Iaverhill, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Presser-Foot Locks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein'to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to the movable work compressing member of a shoe sewing-machine and the operating mechanism therefor. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the movable work compressing member whether the presser foot or the table cooperates with a fixed member which compresses the work during the piercing of the work. by the awl, and the forming of the stitch, and then releases the work entirely or sufliciently to permit the feeding mechanism to feed the work after the formation of the stitch. It is desirable that the presser foot lock shall be capable of being released whenever the operator desires to inspect the work, or for any other purpose. Machines of this general character are frequently equipped with stop motions and in such ma: chines the stop motion has operatedto' re lease the presser foot lock or table lock as the case may be, whenever the machine is stopped. There are certain objections to this arrangement, as it frequently happens that the operator desires to stop the machine but does not want to have the work released.

In the machine embodying my invention, I employ a stop motion controlled by a foot treadle. hen the treadle is allowed to rise to a certain point, the machine is brought to rest by the stop motion, but this does not release the presser foot lock. Thereafter the work may be released by allowing the treadie to rise abo e the position at which the stop motion is set in motion or by depressing the treadle again the machine may be started without releasing the work at all.

The stop motion embodying my invention is not particularly claimed herein exceptin combination with the presser foot lock because the same forms the subject of an application for United States Letters Patent filed by me July 31, 1915, Serial No. 112,280.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown my invention as including a presser Specification of Letters Patent.

, tion partly operated in time with the MEL SHOE or MASSA- IPRESSER-FOOT LOCK.

Patented June 6, 1922.

Application filed August 1, 1918. Serial No. 247,747.

foot lock, the table being rigid and stationary. It is to be understood, however, that I do not limit myself to this construction s1nce 1f preferred, the presser foot may be made stationary and the table itself may be actuated in time with the stitch forming mechanism. I

The invention will be fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof are pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevain section of the shoe sewing machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in sect1on of the sewing machine shown in Fig. 1. Flg. 3 is a top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, at A is shown a needle,

at B the looper and atC the shuttle. The table which is rigid and stationary is designated 11 and the movable presser foot is designated 12. The main shaft of the machine is shown at D, there being the usual hand wheel E, friction clutch F, driving pulley G and brake H. The clutch F is moved by an elbow lever 14 to the left as viewed in Fig. 1 to put the ma chine in operation. At 21 is shown a treadle bar operated by a treadle 23 and normally held up by a spring 22. The actuation of the stop motion and the release of the presser foot lock is controlled by the movement of the treadle bar 21.

On the main shaft D, is a cam 15 which engages a spring pin 16 in the upper end of a stop lever 17. A spring 18 tends to hold the top of the stop lever 17 toward the left as shown in Fig. 1. The stop lever carries an arm 19 which is normally held in contact with a roll 20 on the treadle bar 21. The treadle bar is also provided with a roll 24, at its upper end andwith a stop pin 25 near its lower end.

At 26 is shown a locking lever which is main shaft by means of a cam 27 acting on a cam roll 28, on the locking lever '26. The end of the locking lever 26 enters a notch 29 in the treadle bar and prevents the spring 22 raising the treadle bar above the. predetermined point except during that portion of the revolution of the main shaft in which the cam 27 holds the point of the locking lever 26 out of the notch 29. The operator may, however depress the treadle again during this period, as the upper corner of the said notch is rounded off, as shown at a.

At 30 is shown a latch pivoted at 81 to a fixed part of the machine. The lower end of the latch is provided with an inclined surface 6 lying in the path of the roll 20 on the treadle bar 21. The upper end of the latch 30 is hook shaped and engages the tail of the elbow lever 14: which moves the clutch F.

The brake H is put into operation by a depending connection 33. On the lower end of said depending connection 33 is a dog 34 which when the stop lever 17 is at the left, is in the path of a projection 3-5 on the side of the spring pin 16.

The mechanism just described is practically identical with that shown in my said application, and therefore need not be described in greater detail. It will be understood that when the operator allows the treadle 23 to rise to a predetermined point, the machine will be stopped as soon as the finger 26 is pulled out of the notch 29 in the treadle bar by the action of the cam 27. Thereafter, the further movement upward of the treadle bar and treadle disengages the driving mechanism and sets the brake, all in the manner described in my said application.

It will also be understood that the trea dl bar may rise above the position which it occupies when the stop motion is actuated, and that this further upward movement of the treadle bar releases the presser foot lock as will now be described. The presser foot 12 i pivoted at 40 and is mounted on a gear sector 111 which meshes with a second gear sector 12 pivoted at 4-3. The gear sector 42 has a tail (Z engaging a fork on a slide 114-. The slide is held normally to the left by means of a spring 45. The slide 44- is provided with a toothed surface 46. Cooperating with the teeth 46 on the slide a l are a pair of pawls 4:7 and 48. These pawls are pivoted on a pin 49 at one end of a fork 50 itself pivoted at 51.

The two pawls at? and 48 are of slightly different lengths, the difference in length being equal to one-half one of the notches in the slide bar 44-. In this way the notches may be made twice the size and are therefore stronger, but the machine compensates for smaller variations in the thickness of the work. The endsofthe pawls 47 and 4:8 are held towards the notched portion of the slide bar 44 by means of springs 7 2 and 73. The fork 50 is made in one piece with a rocker cam forki52 which is acted upon by a :rocker cam 55,, Therocker .531ismount ed 011 an oscillating shaft 5 1, which is itself moved in time with the main shaft by means of an arm 56 and an eccentric strap 57. The eccentric strap 57 is actuated by an cecentric 58.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that during the feeding movement the spring 45 holds the presser foot 12 down against the work with a gentle yielding pressure. When the feeding movement is complete, the rocker cam 53 swings the cam fork 52 about its pivot and this moves the pivot 19 down and causes one of the pawls 47, 48 to engage the notched surface in the slide as, after which the further movement of the cam 53 pushes the slide as to the left. This forces the presser foot down on the work and conr presses the work positively. Varying thicknesses of the work are cared for by the series of notches 46 in the notched portion of the slide as.

At 81 is shown a housing carried by the frame of the machine and extending over the slide bar 14. This housing carries a spring stop 82 mounted on a bolt 83, and having an adjusting nut 85. The spring 8f contained in a hole drilled in the housing tends to hold the stop 82 to the right as shown in Fig. 2. The stop 82 is in line with the shoulder g on a slide bar 441. The objeet of this spring stop is to prevent the presser foot or any of the connected parts being broken when there is no work in the machine. The spring stop is adjusted by means of the nut 85 so that the spring 4:5 cannot push the slide 14 to the left far enough to bring the presser foot 12 near enough to the table 11 so that thereafter the pawls can compress the spring 84 to bring the presser foot into contact with the table 11,.

The spring stop therefore prevents the pawls engaging with teeth far enough back 011 the slide as to cause the presser foot to be brought into engagement with the table and therefore the pawls and the operating mechanism therefor cannot push the slide over far enough to break the teeth, the presser foot, or any of the intermediate parts.

The rocker cam fork 52 is mounted. on a pin 51 eccentrically placed on the end of a shaft 60. Said shaft 60 is provided with gear teeth 61 meshing with a rack 62 on the treadle bar 21 and also with a downwardly extending arm for a purpose to be e.x plained later. The movement of the ecccentrio pin 51 *aused by the upward movement of the rack 62 displaces the rocker fork 52 to the right an amount sutlicient to permit the pawls 17 and 4.8 to clear the ends of the teeth 46 when the pawls are moved to disengage therefrom the teeth bv mechanism which will be described hereafter. This change 1n position ofthe rocker cam fork 52 the pivot 69 and thewedge 67.

makes it possible to disengage the pawls 47 and 48 from the teeth 46 without danger of breaking the said teeth 46.

On the side of the fork 50 which forms the left hand end of the rocker cam fork 52 is pivoted a lever 63 carrying a pin 64 which extends across the tail of the pawls 47 and 48. Above the said pin is located an adjustable stop 65 comprising a bolt screwed into a projection 66 on top of the fork 50'. The front or left hand end of the lever 63 is up-turned as shown at e in Fig. 2, and a movable wedge 67 on a hand-lever 68 pivoted at 69 is provided by which the pawls may be released from the notches 46 when desired. By pulling the hand-lever 68 to the left, the wedge 67 is forced under the inclined surface 6 on the lever 63 and the pin 64 is forced downward thereby raising and disengaging the front ends of the pawls 47 and 48. As previously stated there is an arm 70 on the shaft 60. This arm is forked at its lower end to receive a connection 71, the other end of which is pivotally connected to the lever 68 at, a point between spring 93 holds the hand lever 68 normally in position with the wedge 67 disengaged from the pawls 47 and 48.

On the under side of the wedge 67 is a pin 94 which engages the pin 95 on the side of the slide bar 44 when the wedge 67 has lifted the pawls 47 and 48. The movement of the wedge 67 after the pin 94 has eu gaged the pin 95, moves the slide bar 44 back and lifts the presser foot.

When the operator desires to release the work after stopping his machine he proceeds a follows:

He first raises the treadle to the stopping position. This releases the drive, sets the brake and automatically brings the machine to rest with the needle out of the work and the stitch-forming instrumentalities separated. Until the machine has come to rest, the presser foot lock will not be released because the pin 25 strikes the lower end of the elbow lever .162 and prevents the treadle bar 21 moving up further until the elbow lever 162 has been moved out of the way during the actuation of the stop motion. Vhen the machine has come to rest the operator may then release the treadle entirely. The first part of the movement of the treadle bar 21 turns the shaft 60 just enough to move the cam fork lever 52 to the right an amount sulficient to withdraw the pawls from the teeth 46. The further movement of the treadle bar 21 causes the arm 70 to the right and force the wedge 67 under the lever 63. The further movement of the wedge causes the pin 94 to move back the slide bar 44 and release the work.

In starting the machine the operator depresses the treadle. The first part of this to swing for,

movement drops the presser foot and removes the Wedge 67 from under the lever 63. The springs 72, 73 cause one of the pawls to engage the teeth 46. The further downward movement of the treadle bar restores the shaft 60 to its normal position so that the next movement of the rocker cam 53 forces the. slide bar 44 to the left and compresses the work. a

From the foregoing it will be seen that the stopping of the machine and the releasing of the presser foot take place in a predetermined sequence and that the movements occur in a reverse sequence when the machine is started. It will be also seen that the operator may release the work by the hand lever 68 if he desires or after the stop motion has stopped the machine by completely releasing the treadle.

What I claim is:

1. In a shoe sewing machine, a fixed table,

a movable presser foot, means to hold the presser foot yieldingly toward the table and a rocker camactuated in time with the machine to move the presser foot positively toward the table during the stitch forming operation.

2. In a shoe sewing machine,

a movable presser foot, a pair of cooperating gear sectors one carrying said presser foot and the other carrying a lever, yielding means acting on the lever to hold the presser foot yieldingly toward the table, and means actuated in time with the machine to move the lever positively during the stitch forming operation.

3. In a shoe sewing machine, a movable a fined table,

work-compressing member, means to operate said work-compressing member positively comprising a rocker cam moved in time with the machine, and a cam follower actuated by said cam.

4. In a shoe sewing machine, a movable work-compressing member, means to hold'it yieldingly against the work, means to operate said work-compressing member positively comprising a rocker cam moved in time with the machine, and a cam follower actuated by said cam.

5. In a shoe sewing machine, a movable work-compressing member, means to operate said work-compressing member positively comprising a cam moved in time with the machine, a cam follower, a pivot therefor, an eccentric mounting for said pivot by the movement of which the said work-compressing member may be released.

6. In a shoe sewing machine, a movable work compressing member, means to oper- .ate said work compressing member posi tively comprising a cam moved in time with the machine, a cam follower, a pivot therean eccentric mounting for said pivot by the movement of which the said work compressing member may be released and pedal operated mechanism to operate the said eccentric mounting.

7. In a shoe sewing machine, a stop motion therefor, a movable work compressing member, means to operate said work compressing member in time with the sewing machine, releasing mechanism for said work compressing member, and common control mechanism having independent connections with said stop motion and said releasing mechanism, through which connections said stop-motion and releasing mechanism are operated in succession.

8. In a shoe sewing machine, a stop motion therefor, a movable work compressing member, means to operate. said work compressing member in time with the sewing machine, releasing mechanism for said work compressing member, and mechanism including a member having separate connections with and timed to act successively on the stop motion and on the releasing mechanism to stop the machine and release the work in a predetermined sequence.

9. In a shoe sewing machine, a stop motion therefor, a movable work compressing member, means to operate said work compressing member positively comprising a cam moved in time with the machine, a cam follower, a pivot therefor, an eccentric mounting for said pivot by the movement of which the said work compressing member may be released, and common mechanism acting on the stop motion and on the eccentric mounting to stop the machine and release the work in a predetermined sequence.

10. In a shoe sewing machine, a stop mo tion therefor, a movable work compressing member, means to operate said work compressing member positively comprising a cam moved in time with the machine, a pivoted cam follower, an eccentric mounting for said pivot by the movement of which the said work compressing member may be released, and pedal actuated mechanism acting on the stop motion and on the eccentric mounting to stop the machine and release the work in a predetermined sequence.

11. In a shoe sewing machine, a stop motion therefor, a movable work compressing member, means to operate said wor: compressing member positively, comprising a cam moved in. time with the machine, a pivoted cam follower, an eccentric mounting for said pivot by the movement of which the said work compressing member maybe released. and mechanism by the first movement of which the stop motion is actuated to stop the machine and by the further movement of which the eccentric mounting is moved to release the work.

12. In a shoe sewing machine, a movable work compressing member, yielding means to hold the said member toward the work,

positive actuating means for said work compressing member including a cam actuated in time with the sewing machine, a cam follower, there being a notch and pawl connections between the follower and the work compressing member, a pivot for the'cam follower, an eccentric mounting for the said pivot and mechanism under the control of the operator to move the eccentric mounting and release the notch and pawl connection.

13. In a shoe sewing machine, a movable work compressing member, a member moved in time with the sewing machine, an elbow lever actuated by said movable member, notch and pawl connections between the elbow lever and the work compressing member, a pivot for said elbow lever, an eccentric mounting for said pivot and mechanism under the control of the operator to move the eccentric mounting of the pivot and disconnect the notch and pawl connection.

14. In a shoe sewing machine, a stop motion therefor, a movable work compressing member, a cam moving in time with the machine, mechanism including a notch and pawl connection by which the cam positively actuates the movable work compressing member, releasing mechanism acting on said notch and pawl connection, and mechanism act-ing on the stop motion and on the releasing mechanism to stop the machine and release the work in a predetermined sequence.

15. In a shoe machine, a work support, a presser foot, a slide operatively connected to said foot to cause it to approach and recede from said work support, yielding means urging said slide in a direction to cause said foot to approach said work support, a yielding stop limiting the motion of said slide due to said yielding means, and other means acting to move said slide.

16. In a shoe machine, a work support, a presser foot, a slide operatively connected with said foot to cause it to approach and recede from said work support, yielding means urging said slide in a direction to cause said foot to approach said work support whereby work may be clamped between said support and presser foot, means to lock said foot in such clamping position, and means acting periodically to further increase the clamping pressure on said work.

17. In a shoe machine, a work support, a presser foot, a. slide operatively connected to said presser foot to cause said foot to approach and recede from said work support, yielding means urging said slide in a direction to cause said foot to approach said work support whereby work may be clamped therebetween, a stop to limit the motion of said slide due to said yielding means, means to lock said foot in clamping position, means to positively move said slide in clamping direction thereafter, and operatoractuated means for relieving said positive pressure, unlocking, and retracting said slide whereby said work may be unclamped.

18. In a shoe machine, a work support, a presser foot, a slide operatively connected to said presser foot to cause said foot to approach and recede from said work support, yielding means urging said slide in a direction to cause said foot to approach said work support whereby work may be clamped therebetween, means to lock said foot in clamping position, means to positively move said slide in clamping direction thereafter, mechanism for relieving said positive pressure, unlocking, and retracting said slide whereby said work may be unclamped, and a plurality of means for actuating said mechanism.

19. In a shoe machine, a stop motion therefor, a work support, a presser foot, a slide operatively connected to said presser foot to cause said foot to approach and recede from said work support, yielding means urging said slide in a direction to cause said foot to approach said work support whereby work may be clamped therebetween, means to lock said foot in clamping position, means to positively move said slide in clamping direction thereafter, mechanism for relieving said positive pressure, unlocking, and retracting said slide whereby said work may be unclamped, and a plurality of means for actuating said mechanism one of said means also controlling said stop motion.

20. In a shoe machine, a work support, a presser foot, a slide operatively connected to said presser foot to cause said foot to approach and recede from said work support, yielding means urging said slide in a direction to cause said foot to approach said support whereby work may be clamped there between, means to lock said slide to retain said foot in clamping position, means to positivelyimove said slide in clamping direction thereafter, mechanism for releasing said positive pressure and unlocking and retracting said slide whereby said work may be unclamped, and means for actuating said mechanism.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

FELIX EMILE VALOIS. 

